So close, yet so far…

Despite a valiant effort last week (in which we had the highest overall score among all teams), the championship game ended in a bitter defeat as we slipped to 4th place.

Drats!

Congrats to my team, “The Dudes”… G Money aka Crouching Tiger, Bad Ass Motha, Tina P, Rock n Rolla, and myself, The Iron Giant.

These nicknames were mostly self-appointed, lol.

However, there is always a silver lining.

Bowling on a team in a league is a fun experience. Even better, I got to bowl with my coworkers on our inter-office league. But now that the league is done, I can hang up my “Dude”shirt and go back to bowling strictly for fun.

Now there’s something to celebrate!

 

Quick Thoughts

•  It’s been a while since I blogged. Hmm. Must do better.

•  I’ve joined my office’s bowling team and although I’m not the best bowler (I avg 120 on a good night) I definitely LOVE it. And that’s why I do it.

 

•  Shoutout to Courtney who, when helping me practice, bowled a turkey in her 10th frame!!

•  It was freaking hot today. I wore a blazer, jeans, and boots. It was no bueno.

•  I am a huge fan of Modern Family, Cougartown, Community, and The Office.

 

•  Why was it so damn hot today?!

•  I’m a week sober. From fast food and drinking soda. Heh.

•  LA has changed me. For the better, I think.

•  I keep saying I’m going to start wearing heels…then when the time comes, I choose flats. C’mon K.

•  I had In N Out today. Cut me some slack! But it wasn’t that good. And reset the sober counter.

•  Today was a good day. And it ain’t over yet.

 

One Sweet Epic Fail

I love introducing my readers to other blogs — whether they’re funny, familiar, sad, or thought-provoking. I file these posts under the category “Blogosphere Bests” —> see, right there in the sidebar?

Everyone has had a food ordering experience-gone wrong at least once in their life. But what if the food was your Mom’s 50th birthday cake? Enter Cake Wrecks.

A Cake Wreck is “any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate — you name it.” Some have grammatical and spelling errors; some are in bad taste; others are just plain awful looking. Jen Yates’s blog (which is now also a new book!) puts these disastrous professional cakes on blast.

Maybe the New York Times said it best: “Think of them as epic fails, with frosting.”

How did it all start? “In May 2008, a friend e-mailed Ms. Yates a photo of a sheet cake that looked like a prop from “The Office.” It was not. Amid marzipan flowers, the cursive inscription was a profound reminder of the perils of ordering supermarket cakes by phone. It read:

Best Wishes Suzanne

Under Neat that

We will Miss you”

And from there, Cake Wrecks was born.

Here’s a taste of what Cake Wrecks has to offer … visit the blog for more! All images are courtesy of Cake Wrecks.

 

The horror!

 

 

Tea party, over.

 

Really?

 

Now that’s just plain mean!

 

Hello rain. I missed you.

What a lovely sight! No, really!

When I first moved to LA, someone told me that it never rained here. And if it did, it wasn’t much — perhaps a drizzle or two. 

Even when rain was on the forecast, I would wake up to dark skies — but no rain. Or as I slept the forecast would change … and the next day, it was just another sunny LA day.

Well this week, the forecast said rain — but I didn’t think much about it.

I woke up to dark skies — but didn’t bring an umbrella. 

And shortly after I got to work, IT POURED!

 

6 hours later, it’s still raining. 

 

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

It’s Fall….

… and I’m loving it.

I really wouldn’t mind living in a place that truly experiences all the fours seasons:

The rain and vibrant bursts of color in Spring;

the lemonade at the beach and hot nights of Summer;

the piles of burnt orange leaves of Fall;

and the snowy, “sit at home by the fire” evenings of Winter.

But now that Summer is officially over, and my bikinis, flip flops, shorts, and summer dresses have been packed away (of course, this is LA so it could be 90º next week for all I know), I am excited to be welcoming Fall.

Here are some of my favorite “Fall” things:

Boots

Leggings

Warm coats (like tweed and wool and leather)

Fresh, crisp air

The gold and red leaves that adorn the trees

Fireplaces

Halloween (and the candy!)

Scarves 

Cinnamon (on everything!!!)

Hot apple cider

Pumpkin (pie, spice, bread, you name it, it’s awesome)

Thanksgiving (and it ain’t Fall without cranberry sauce!)

Roasted anything (corn, nuts, turkey, etc) 

Plaid (I love plaid!)

 

 

Ebb and Flow, They Come, They Go

Is there a reason why people come into your life?

 

Obviously the big relationships in your life leave a mark, and the lesson learned is crystal clear.

But perhaps every personal interaction happens for a reason.

Some people come and go like a rotating door, leaving behind a piece of wisdom or a warm memory.

Some drift in unexpectedly. And as silently as they came in, they fade out. Dissipate like early morning fog. They have left nothing — at least not that you can see.

Some enter and never leave. It is a constant exchange of knowledge and empathy, emotion and interaction, both good and bad.

And others come into your life, put down their roots, create chaos, happiness, sadness, anger — and then they’re gone, and a crater exists where your heart should be.

But why?

Why did I know that person? Why did I meet them? Why did I date them?
Why did I love them?

Was it chance … a spontaneous, unplanned meeting of two beings?

Or fate, destiny, something that was “meant to be” … like old movies and clichés would have you believe?

***

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately.

When I decided to write this post, I was questioning why I’d met certain people — some because the mark they left was not a positive one and others because they were special … and them leaving my life was incredibly painful.

Wouldn’t I have been better off not knowing those people?

Or is experiencing that pain, heartbreak, fear, rage, the lesson? The reason?

I wonder.

 

ART & COPY

As a fledgling in the advertising biz, I’m always interested in things that open my eyes and suck me further in to the ad world. 

Enter ART & COPY.

ART & COPY, directed by Doug Pray, is an amazing documentary that dives into the history and influence of advertising. As the website explains, ART & COPY ”reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry.”

After viewing the film, it felt amazing to have such a profound look inside this world. I feel like I’m making an effort to know my craft, and learning about it enables me to appreciate it more. I love that I’ve heard the names Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney … that I have seen what these people have created. We’re talking about the creators of some of the biggest ad campaigns EVER — Nike’s “Just Do It” (Wieden), Apple’s “Think Different” (Chow), “Got Milk” (Jeff Goodby), “Where’s the beef?“, “I Love NY“, and so forth.

ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

I highly recommend ART & COPY, whether you have an interest in advertising or not. Definitely a must-see film.

 

KOB Can Cook – Recipe 4

Shrimp Burritos

 

Shrimp Burritos Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup long-grain white rice
3/4 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes 
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 ounces cooked shrimp without tails
2 teaspoons minced garlic 
6 (10 inch) flour tortillas
3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup salsa

 

Shrimp Burritos Directions:

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until tender, stirring frequently. 

2. Stir in rice, and season with cumin and 3/4 teaspoon of garlic salt. Cook and stir until the rice is lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. 

3. Pour in the chicken broth and the diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until all of the liquid has been absorbed.

 

4. In a small saucepan, stir together the refried beans, 3/4 teaspoon of garlic salt, and black pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until heated through.

5. Place shrimp in a bowl, and stir in garlic until shrimp is coated. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté shrimp until heated through and pink.

 

6. Create your burrito as you like with the shrimp, cheese, rice, sour cream, salsa, and refried beans. iPhone (and mojitos!) are optional. Enjoy!

 

KOB Can Cook – Recipe 3

Chicken Cacciatore Over Rigatoni

*Please note this photo is from Google. We didn’t take pics this time!

 

Chicken Cacciatore Over Rigatoni Ingredients:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, sliced
10 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

 

 

Chicken Cacciatore over Rigatoni Directions:

1. Place flour in a shallow dish. Lightly dredge each chicken thigh in the flour. Discard the remaining flour. 

2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, cover and keep warm.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the skillet. Add onion, mushrooms and rosemary and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

 4. Add tomatoes, white wine, salt and pepper and cook until the onion is very soft, about 5 minutes.

 

5. Return the chicken to the pan, nestle into the sauce, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, about 5 minutes.

 6. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

 

Inhale. Exhale. Enjoy.